AN: Coming home tomorrow morning, woo! Posting a quick chapter here from my USB and then jumping off the computer. Thanks to Kaitlyn Fall for beta-ing!
Darien walked with shaky steps towards the woman in white, eyes locked with hers. When he was in earshot, she glanced around the room, as if checking for eavesdroppers and leaned towards Darien.
"Might I ask how things went with Serenity today, my dear? I saw no ring on her finger, I take it you didn't ask her?" Her voice was pure silver.
"Ask her what?" Darien asked stupidly. What the hell was she on about? Rings and fingers? She wasn't talking about a –
"Why, the wedding, dear Endymion. You did not ask her today? I thought you had planned the outing perfectly."
"The... outing? Wedding?!"
She frowned at him slightly, and he lowered his eyes.
"All right then, you got a bit nervous, that's very understandable. But my dear, you know she'll say yes, so do not worry about it!"
The double doors slammed open again, this time coming from their right, and Darien and his companion turned to see a man posing in the doorframe.
"Jadeite, please." The woman sighed, raising a hand to her temples. Laughter could be heard behind the blonde man and he turned, retorting to the figure in the shadows that he was much better looking than them, and that they were just jealous. Darien stared at his back – was this man serious?
A tall and heavy-set man barged past him, clipping him on the shoulder as he did so. He walked up to Darien and stopped before him, bowing slightly.
"Your Highness, did all go to plan?"
"He didn't ask her," the woman replied for him. The man, who had silvery blonde hair, turned in surprise to her.
"But your Majesty, that's just..." He turned back to Darien. "Is this true? You didn't ask for her hand?"
"Uh, no." Darien gave him a look like he was crazy. "Look, I'm sorry, but who are you?"
Both traded unamused glances as another male walked up to them.
"Come on Endymion, just because your bloodline is susceptible to brain washing and amnesia, doesn't mean you can pull a fast one of us."
"Look, I have no idea who the hell you guys are, but if you'll excuse me, I'll just grab Serena and we'll…"
"Your Majesty, if it is alright, we will take Endymion now. It's obvious he's stressed out about his… Well, he has much to do before tonight." He turned to stare Darien down. "And to fill the rest of us in as to why he chickened out."
Queen Selene nodded in approval and sent them off, staring worriedly at Darien's back. "How strange," she murmured to herself, as the throne room once again emptied.
xXxXx
Serena stumbled out of the tub as she reached out for the towel. The girls she'd been kidnapped by had stripped her completely naked and shoved her, quite rudely in her opinion, in the soapy water.
"Looking for this?" a voice smirked from behind her. Serena spun around to see the dark haired girl holding the fluffy white towel. Serena quickly tried to cover herself as much as possible, but the girl just laughed, throwing the towel to Serena, who dropped it in her haste.
"What are you doing? We've seen all the bits before." She continued to laugh as she walked out of the bathroom and into the adjoining bedroom. Serena wrapped the towel firmly around her body and stood shivering –both in fear and from the cold air biting at her skin – as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Who were these people? Taking her clothes and shoving her into a bath? Oh god! Was she in some kind of brothel?
"Serenity, time for hair and makeup!" the blonde in orange sang.
Serena whimpered in fear. Not her. Any one of them, but not her. She was terrifying! Why couldn't she get stuck with the silent little blue one? She wouldn't bombard her with questions every second, or rip her school skirt from her waist in seconds.
And what was with that name? Serenity? She'd kept telling them her name wasn't Serenity, but they hadn't believed her. The blonde girl had nodded in a patronising way and replied,
"Suuuure Serenity. We believe you!" before the girls all broke into giggles and shot conspiratorial looks between one another. It was clear they knew something she didn't.
And it was frustrating enough to make Serena scream! Of course the fear of not knowing where she was overruled any other emotion, so the screaming would have to wait.
Serena wondered where Darien was now, and what he was doing. Was he having his clothes stripped off by strange girls and being dumped in a tub of water? For some reason, a flash of jealousy surged through Serena. Wait a minute - what did she care if he was being attacked by crazy chicks? It was Darien! He could handle it himself.
Not that he wouldn't be enjoying it.
Another hot surge of jealousy washed through Serena and she quickly changed track of her thoughts. She just wouldn't think about him right now then.
"Come on!" The orange-clad girl rolled her eyes as she stuck her head in, grabbing Serena by the waist and pulling her towards a soft looking chair in front of the vanity. "You're so spacey today, where's your head at, girl? Planet Earth?"
xXxXx
"So are you going to tell us?" Nephrite leaned against the doorframe as Darien towel-dried his hair. Jadeite appeared at his shoulder.
"You chicken out?" he grinned before turning to yell over his shoulder, "Zoisite! You owe me ten Lunar stones, pal!"
Darien sighed under the towel and removed it from his head. Why they insisted he was this 'Endymion' was beyond him, but they refused to believe he was Darien Shields. Wait, what had they said?
"Me? Propose to Serena?" He laughed, picturing himself standing at the altar next to Meatball Head. Strangely enough, he wasn't as repulsed to the idea as he should have been.
His laughter ceased. "And why do you keep calling her Serenity anyway? Her name's Serena."
Nephrite clapped him on the shoulder. "Why don't you save the nicknames for when you're married? Maybe that will give you the push of encouragement you need to actually go through with it." The four men laughed again and Jadeite began imitating a bumbling Darien trying to propose to the doorknob.
Darien stared grimly at the blonde's back. This place was… well, there was no way to describe it. He felt like he was stuck in that mansion, in that movie… What was it called again? The Rocky Horror Show? Well, he'd better just play along with everyone until it was time for bed, then he'd sneak out, grab Meatball Head and they'd make a run for it. He wondered briefly how far they'd get before anyone noticed – and that's if they made it out of this marble-maze of a palace first! He pushed past Nephrite and Jadeite and walked into the large bedroom to find his clothes. "Yeah, she's pretty hot, eh?" he said, cringing slightly at the thought of referring to Serena like that.
Zoisite looked up from his thick book. "Is Serenity ill? Has she got a fever?" His face creased in concern. "Someone should make sure Mercury sees her before tonight."
Darien stared at him mutely for a minute before turning to his clothes on the bed. But they weren't there. Where was his beloved olive jacket? His snug black shirt? Who had taken them?!
"You will be wearing proper attire tonight, Endymion."
Darien turned to see Malachite holding out what looked like a cross between a full body suit of armour and a black ensemble. His nose crinkled, but he said nothing. He was still going along with their little skit after all – until everyone went to bed, that was.
"Hurry up," Nephrite checked his watch, which looked like a highly technical gadget, far more advanced than any other watch Darien had seen before.
xXxXx
"Hey!" Serena snapped as hands continued to flutter around her. When one reached to pull her skirt out further from behind, she spun around to see the girl called Mars kneeling and staring up at her in confusion. Her outstretched hand hovered in the air.
"I was just pulling out the skirt Serenity, it was bunched at the back."
Serena blushed. She'd just been so stressed out about everyone touching her, she'd snapped at an innocent gesture. "Sorry, Mars," she grinned apologetically. Venus took the opportunity to yank the bodice by the upper chest into place a final time before Serena could do anything.
Serena groaned and blew her fringe up in frustration. When they'd gone to style her hair, she'd just about freaked out. No one touched her hair.
And for goodness' sake, where was Darien?
"Okay, ready!" Venus called cheerfully to the two men standing before them, waiting. Serena was surprised they didn't roll their eyes or make a sarcastic comment; they'd stood there, last-minute primping for at least five minutes. Instead, they both gripped a heavy gold handle each and stepped back, opening the double doors in a grand-like gesture.
When Serena looked beyond the balcony, she realised there had to be hundreds of people staring at her from below. She almost tried to make a run for it, but Jupiter's hand on the small of her back kept her in place. She couldn't outrun them.
"Introducing her royal highness, Princess Serenity of the Moon."
Jupiter's hand gave a slight push and Serena stumbled forward. How was she supposed to walk in this dress anyway? She tried to move as gracefully down the stairs as she could, aware that every set of eyes in the room were on her. When she finally made it to the bottom, injury free, she turned to her left, hoping someone would tell her what to do.
Instead, she saw Darien.
xXxXx
Darien watched as the doors opened dramatically to reveal an angel in white. His eyes roved over her petite form, dressed in soft, creamy layers of silk and decorated with shimming pearls. Her hair was done up in its usual twin pigtail style, but small pearl barrettes clipped parts of her blonde hair back from her face, making her look somehow softer – like a princess.
When she tripped in through the doorframe however, the spell was broken, and Darien could have laughed. He'd just been ogling at Serena Tsukino! Talk about bad taste...
But he was glad he hadn't laughed out loud, as Serena made her way down the impossibly long staircase. She walked with such grace, he was sure every woman in the room took a hit to their self-esteem. Serena couldn't even walk down the street like that, he was sure of it.
He barely heard the introductions for the rest of the Scouts as he stared at the descending angel. She did look pretty, even he would admit that. As the blonde neared the bottom, her eyes passed over the crowd, searching for something, looking for someone. When she stopped right beside him, where he'd been told to wait by Malachite, and turned to him, he extended his arm and held out a hand. Well, what else could he do?
The crowd "awwwed" and clapped politely, causing Serena and Darien to blush furiously.
xXxXx
The guests had divided amongst themselves to create a path for Serena and Darien. They did so quietly and quickly, until the two were standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, on the dance floor. Darien looked to his right to see Zoisite imitating putting his arms up, as if holding a ballroom partner. Darien nodded minutely and raised his hands, placing one around Serena's waist, and the other clasping her hand. He heard her gasp softly beneath him and smirked. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who had no idea what they were doing. The orchestra towards the back of the room picked up their instruments and paused, waiting for their next instructions. The conductor nodded and raised his hand.
"Introducing … His Royal Highness, Prince Endymion of the Earth, and her Royal Highness, Princess Serenity of the Moon?"
Everyone spun to the voice of the announcer by the door as he stepped back. Gasps and murmuring broke out in the large hall when a tall and handsome man strode in through the doors, leading a beautiful young woman in white.
Heads spun back and forth as people looked between Darien and Serena, and the two newcomers. The small chatter got louder as the crowd began to panic.
The man, a spitting image of Darien, pointed a finger down at his counterpart in the crowd. "Who are you?" He looked furious.
The woman behind him trembled as she peeked around his shoulder. Serena almost stepped back in shock. She looked like her!
The Scouts were all looking between each other in fright, and the Generals beside them were doing the same thing. Queen Selene stood from her throne, which sat at the back of the hall on a raised platform. Silence fell quickly as everyone looked to her for guidance.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded in a loud and regal voice.
"Those are imposters, Your Majesty!" The man at the top of the stairs thundered as he continued to point down at Serena and Darien. Serena shrank back into Darien, before remembering who it was and jumping back in disgust.
"Mother, it's me," the blonde called to Queen Selene as she stepped away from her partner. When every pair of eyes in the room looked at her suspiciously, her gaze turned pleading. "Mother, you must know it's me."
Queen Selene glanced back and forth between the identical couples and covered her eyes as she massaged her temples. A small black cat sitting beside her throne hissed.
"The birthmark, my Queen. Serenity will have the birthmark!"
Queen Selene's head snapped up. "Yes," she agreed with the feline. "Yes!" she called loudly. "If you are the real Serenity," she said, eyes trained on the girl by the door, "then you will have the birthmark signifying your royalty."
The girl wasted no time. Bringing a hand to her forehead, she pushed her blonde fringe up from her face and a collective gasp echoed around the ballroom. Queen Selene turned to Serena, who stood frozen in her spot, heart quivering with fear. The man beside the real Serenity, Endymion, hmphed. "I thought so! Guards! Seize them! They are committing treason and impersonating royalty!"
Darien and Serena had no more than a moment's warning before they were grabbed roughly from behind and dragged away.
Thanks for reading so far guys, and remember to review! They make Carmen squee!